On April 5, at the Sorbonne, the Contemporary Disputation association showed and explained what disputations were through an artistic performance and a public controversy on the weaknesses of our democratic systems.

The Contemporary Disputation association, launched by the journal Études, aims to stage philosophical debates inspired by medieval disputatio.

"In a context where it is increasingly difficult to debate, where tweets and other fake news make and break opinion, where words give way to violent behaviours, it seemed vital to bring back the art of conversation, quality arguments, depth and respect”, said Fr. Guilhem Causse S.J., professor at Centre Sèvres (Jesuit University in Paris).

To do this, disputation is key. Already practiced in several Jesuit schools and at the Centre Sèvres, a disputatio is a subject debated over by several people, some being “in favour” and others “against”. It is an oral and collective exercise. It is a very good tool for training and exercising judgment, since one may have to argue ideas that are not theirs at the start. The goal is to debate in an atmosphere of intellectual emulation, to base oneself on the adversary’s arguments and to go beyond them.

A group of students and members of civil society from diverse cultural and social backgrounds met for a few weeks to build arguments and practice.

On April 5, on the eve of the French presidential elections, the disputatio took place in the Sorbonne’s amphitheatre with philosopher Jean-Claude Milner and several participants – an unprecedented experience at the crossroads of philosophy, politics and art.

The audience attended controversies, an inaugural conference by Jean-Claude Milner on democracy and its weaknesses, and debate workshops.

“The challenge is not to shine, but to work together for a better understanding of the world. Participants experience that a relationship that is expressed in regulated discussion bears truth. Although they do not reach a consensus, as they each keep their own opinions, they may reach a regulated dissensus, as Paul Ricoeur would say, upon which our democracies rely", explained Guilhem Causse S.J.